Microsoft may be open to 'open document format'

Mumbai: Microsoft Corporation, proposes to set up an open-source project to create a series of tools that allow translation between the OpenXML format and the ODF format. This will be developed with partners - IT solution provider Clever Age, which is writing the code, and two ISVs, Aztecsof and Dialogika, reports quoting sources close to the software giant said.

The open XML translator project, which will be posted on SourceForge, the open-source software development web site, will allow open participation and free use of the software. The source code will be made available under the BSD licence.

Microsoft is currently testing the code in the context of the specific tablets used by European governments.

Microsoft's involvement with the project included setting it up, providing technical support and project management, and funding part of it.

The move comes hot on the heels of news that the OpenDocument Foundation planned to present Massachusetts with an Office plug-in that would allow Office users to open, render and save to ODF files, while also allowing translation of documents between Microsoft's binary (.doc, .xls, .ppt) or XML formats and ODF.

The first translator being developed is a plug-in for Microsoft Word, and a prototype version of this will be posted on July 6. The final version of the Word translation tool is expected to be available for free from the download site by the end of 2006. Add-ins for Excel and PowerPoint are expected in 2007.

Customers using earlier versions of Office will be able to use the translator via a free compatibility pack the same way Microsoft provided the Open XML updates for earlier Office versions.

While OpenXML brings backward compatibility with documents created by Office users the new translation tools will also be backward-compatible with earlier versions of Office, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, the report said.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is planning to launch a media player that can rival Apple's iPod. The new gadget will feature wireless connectivity, which the iPod currently lacks.

Microsoft is also planning to introduce a new media software to challenge iTunes with a later option to integrate the player and the software. The new media player is expected to be ready for launch by Christmas, according to entertainment industry sources.